I Solemnly Swear That I Am Still Up To No Good
by charlotterose2503
Summary: According to Article 13 of the Marauders Code "A Marauder will never be left behind". This code is law, it beat everything; girlfriends, work, even death. Add a grieving Weasley, and Hogwarts should ready itself for the comeback of the century. Post-War.
1. Fizzing Whizbees

**I Solemnly Swear That I Am Still Up To No Good**

by Charlotte Rose

* * *

**Summary:** According to Article 13 of the Marauders Code "A Marauder will never be left behind". This code is law, it beat everything; girlfriends, work, even death. A Weasley finds out how true it is as he works through his grief, finding a present that many will enjoy, though catastrophes are sure to all, Hogwarts would not be Hogwarts if it was too peaceful. Post-Books, AU after that, until Epilogue. Mostly Canon Pairing. A few OC presents.

**AN:** I did not know which two characters I should pick for the pairing, tell me if you have a better idea. I am also gonna do the disclaimer once and will not put many AN, if any at all. Reviews are always appreciated, after all it will only help me improve the story for you.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters or the setting, I simply borrow them to play out my plot. If you are unsure whether a piece is mine or from the original works, then I recommend you to re-read the books.

**Updates:** I will update when I can, but I will guarantee at least a chapter a week.

* * *

**Chap 1: Fizzing Whizbees**

In the mass of the dark-clothed crowd, one man stood out.

He had bypassed the traditional black robes one wears at funeral to wear a mix-matched assortment of bright fabric. Yet, no one commented, not even his mother.

Because on this sad day, all were present to pay their respect to the war heroes that had died a few days ago, right here in this school, to help Harry Potter defeat Voldemort and put an end at this terrible war.

Many were crying. People were expecting him too, yet the brightly colored man did not shed a tear. He stood with his family and friends, not blaming anyone but Voldemort for all their loss. He listened as the Minister said the list of the heroes that had passed. But at the last name, he stood up and left. Ignoring his mother's sobs and his brothers' cries. Because for him, everyone was wrong. That last name should not be called among the dead, so he would not sit there and listen to them make it so.

George Weasley walked back to the castle, refusing that the funeral ended by "Fred Weasley, beloved son, brother and friend, but above all, a respected prankster."


	2. Pepper Imps

**Chap 2: Pepper Imps**

That night, most of the families present for the funerals were to stay in Hogwarts. Between the students presents, the families, the Ministry workers and the wizards working on the repairs, the Great Hall was full for dinner. And such a crowd meant a lot of noise, regardless of the sad events that had occurred that morning.

Harry Potter was sitting at the Gryffindor's table, close to the Head Table. Not only, because Harry still had a knack for overhearing conversations and because with Minister Shacklebolt and Headmistress McGonagall close by, journalists and fan left him somewhat alone. The Weasleys had sat with him also, along with Andromeda Tonks, shaking with sobs once in a while.

The infant in her arms had not liked that, so sensing his godson's discomfort, Harry had proposed Mrs. Tonks to take him while she ate, for which she was grateful.

Halfway through dinner, George arrived, which lessened Mrs. Weasley's fussing. She went back to caring for Ron and Percy, her two sons who she hadn't seen in months. The lonely twin sat next to Harry, not really caring that he had pushed his sister from the boy whom she was trying to talk to.

"I'll give you back your advance by the end of the week"

As George had not talked since he had seen his twin's corpse, anything he could have said would have surprised his family. But to say such a weird phrase to Harry was not at all what their were expecting. The black haired wizard knew that he was talking about the Triwizard Tournament Prize money he had given to the twins to open their shop.

"I gave it to you, I never had any intention of asking it back, I did not want it then. What maked you think I want it now?"

"I'm closing down" said George taking a bite of whatever was in front of him. "It's procedure that I gave you your share."

By then, the rest of the family had caught on. The mystery of how the twins had the money to open their shop was simply Harry. And now that he was alone, George wanted to close. They protested, Mrs. Weasley the most, surprisingly enough. It was the twins' dream to open a joke shop, why crushed it now, when less than a week ago, he was still inventing the Toughtful Tonic (slip a drop in your friend's drink and the victim will be forced to say his thoughts aloud for 24 hours unless he takes the antidote - the Shut-Up solution - whose side-affects is that the victim will be mute until the Tonic loses his effects) with Fred.

And there was why. Fred was not here. George would not admit his twin's death but he had no choice but admit his absence.

Ron, of all people was the one to stop this non-sense.

"How about we stop before making rash decisions?" He looked from Teddy who was happily sucking Harry's fist to his father before looking at a serious George. "You want to sell the shop? Fine. I'll buy it." He raised his hand to stop Hermione. "Weasley Wizarding Wheezes is the product of years of hard work of _both _Fred and you. You might be ready to say goodbye to it, but not me, not us" he said, pointing to the family. "It is proof that our Fred was alive, did something in his life that will be remembered. I will not stand by and watch it become another nameless joke shop who sells regular tricks. Fred helped invent them, he should get the credit, even if he's not there."

George closed his eyes and nodded. His little brother was right. Reluctantly he admitted something to his little brother. "I'm not like you Ron. I'm not proud of saying this, but right now I am in awe in front of you, and we always were with Fred." He looked to his left, but his sister was there not his twin. "You are brave, you can run to the Chamber of Secrets with Harry while we could only be scared for Ginny. You keep on doing all those things and act like it is nothing, when you could have the ego of a hippogriff." He sighed and got up. "We were never like you Ron. We - I can't go back there alone." and with that George left the hall to go cry by himself behind a tapestry.

* * *

Ginny had stayed in Hogwarts, with only the promise of a long talk with Harry as soon as classes were over, while the rest of the family had went back to the Burrow.

There too, there was a lot of reconstruction to do; the Death Eaters had had a blast destroying the house looking for the family.

Mrs. Weasley picked up her clock from the debris and with this, the family started working on their home during the day and going back to the now safe Grimmauld Place to sleep.

Hermione was in Australia looking for her family for a week, before bringing them back to London and help them get re-installed, "that is if they pardon me", as she kept saying.

* * *

Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones had contacted Harry about his family, saying (between multitude of thanks) that they were unhappy but safe. That day, he had left the Weasleys to go back to Privet Drive to pick up the stuff he had been forced to leave behind and see that they were indeed back to their normal lives. He saw immediately that Uncle Vernon must have kicked the wizard and witch out of his house as soon as they had returned, because remnants of a fights were to be seen on every wall.

He took a deep breath before ringing the front door bell and was greeted by Uncle Vernon's shouts of why he could not leave them alone, that it was all his fault and that he better not think of coming back to living here.

Harry waited for his uncle to calm down, before seeing his chance by seeing Dudley. His cousin had lost a lot of weight and looked like a proper human now, even had a smile on his face as he saw Harry on the doorstep.

To avoid stares and to make his son happy, Vernon let his nephew in. He politely shook Dudley's hand and greeted Aunt Petunia from afar before addressing them, for was he hoped was the last time.

"I am sorry for the inconvenience of the past few months. As Dedalus probably told you, to the Mu- I mean to your world, your absence was not a problem."

"Dudley school's has paperwork that he was sick this year and I believe if you phoned them now, Aunt Petunia, they will let Dudley pass equivalence exams in a month, that will let him graduate with his class and will do no damage to his record. I am sorry that you will have a bit of studying to do though Dudley."

As that issue was taken care of, Harry turned to his uncle. "It was registered with your company that you were on a paid vacation to care for your son, you can go back anytime this week, and all will be like it was before, no questions asked and you will have your salary."

"Aunt Petunia," He sighed. Looking at her made him remember all he saw in Snape's pensieve, which made him that much harder to be nice to someone so bitter toward his loving mother "None of your neighbors can see the damages to your house. A spell" he answered before she could ask. "For them, your house looks the same way as it did the night you left. Now if you let me, I can actually repair it, _my way,_"he said glancing at his uncle "and it will take a minute."

Harry took a step back toward his former guardians. "Trust me when I say, it brings me no pleasure being here, and after today you will hear nothing of me and my world. I just wanted to do this for you for Lily. She was a nice person who always saw the best in everyone and treated others fairly, qualities I have been told to have too. I regret we never got along. Dumbledore had asked you to 'raise me as your own' just as Lily would have done to Dudley if something had happened to you. You never treated me right, but I do not have to deal with it anymore so I will take my belongings and wish you a good life Dursleys, no matter what you have to say."

Harry did not look at either of the three wide-eyed people as he left them in the sitting room to get his belongings. How grateful he was to be of age and just swish his wand and have everything neatly organized and in his reduced trunk. It now looked like a business case, which he put by the door as he went back to the Dursleys.

Vernon was on the phone with Smeltings making sure his nephew had not lied, while Petunia waved at the neighbor outside who did look at the house as if nothing was wrong, not seeing the caved in ceiling and holes in the walls.

Harry cleared his throat and his aunt went to see him. He was reminded of the time when they had left the house in July, she had looked as if she had something to tell him. She had that same look now and asked softly, so that her husband would not hear. "I've had not seen magic since Lily, and being in that safe house with all those wizards and witches in hiding was..." The look of wonder quickly left her face, she was now again the bitter girl who had not been gifted like her sibling. "You really do remind me of her, always have." she sadly sighted "I would appreciate if you could help me fix the house, just the major repairs like the walls and door, I can take care of the dust"

Receiving his first smile from his aunt since he had known her, Harry mumbled under his breath and did his best to fix the damage done to his childhood home. And thinking it was better late than never, Harry also fixed her garden, making it look as green and grand as it would if she had been present to tend it.

His uncle had noticed that Harry had done magic and was doing his trick of changing color before Dudley grabbed him and showed him his car was also as clean as the garden. While they were busy, Harry gave his aunt a piece of parchment on which he had written '12 Grimmauld Place, London'

"That is the house my godfather left me. If you need anything write to me at this adress"

And as his Uncle and cousin turned around, the first to yell at the wizard, Harry grabbed his case and apparated on the spot, his aunt's smiling face still on his mind.

* * *

As he arrived at the Burrow, where he knew the Weasleys to be, he quickly found Mr. Weasley.

"How is it going?" he asked after the men greeted and talked about the visit at the Dursleys.

"Well we easily separated our belongings to the remnants of the walls and furniture" Mr. Weasley had a sad voice as he said that. "You know that I bought this house when Molly and I eloped, it stopped at the first landing, and we kept building it as our family grew." the older man sighed as he was taken back in his memories. "I know it will never be the same, but I feel awful watching all i have left of my house, not knowing how to fix it."

Harry glanced at the site. He had always loved this house that only seemed to stand because of magic, he hated watching it being this way, all mangled where all that was left was the stone wall of the kitchen and sitting room.

And idea struck him and he beckoned Bill, Charlie, Percy, George and Ron. The six boys said they would take a break by the pond so that the matriarch would not worry and as soon as they were out of earshot Harry told them his plan.

"You are surely gonna object, so I'm asking you all to shut up and listen to me until the end." after receiving five unsure nods Harry continued. "I've always loved the Burrow, coming here was always the highlights of my holidays, and after Hogwarts, this place has become home for me. And I have to thank you all and your parents for that. It's crushing me to see your father like that. He hasn't done a single Muggle insinuation since he has seen the damages. And your mother; I do not recognize her. I want to help. And not just like pushing a wheelbarrow are do some charms to fix the old house."

Harry looked pointedly at Ron. "Remember our late night talks about going to Grimmauld Place next year?" The red-head nodded and guessed what his friend was hinting at. "After this awful year, I rather just stay here and enjoy a homemade kidney pie, don't you?"

Adressing the other brothers, Harry explained what his plan was. "What makes your mother the happiest is to take care of people, her family especially. And I know you do not live here anymore, but remember last summer, how cramped it was and we all got on each other nerves before the wedding?"

"That was mostly because mom was the one planning." added Charlie, looking at George hoping he would be the one to comment.

"No matter. How happy do you think she would be if she could house all her family at the same time for the holidays?"

"You want to create a new bigger house for my parents?" asked Bill, awed by the younger man. "Most of us already moved out, they would be only two, wouldn't it be a bit depressing, living in an empty house?"

"We aren't fighting anymore" said Percy to his brothers "I would be delighted to stop for dinner at least once a week, and a week-end away from the city is relaxing."

"And when we have our own families, Mum will love having all her grandchildren home." added a blushing Ron to which George could not stop himself from teasing.

"Already planning on having a bunch of bushy-brown haired freckled blue-eyed babies, are you litle Ronnikins?"

The boys were happily surprised to see their brother joking again and that made his task that much easier for Harry.

"I know your parents will not accept money from me" the Weasleys all snorted in agreement. "and I do not believe you will either, it was a pain making the twins accept the joke shop money. But I want to get them a present, a useful one they cannot refuse. You are all like family to me, and family helps one another."

Convinced Bill asked Harry what he had in mind.

"I know the timing is awful with Fr- I mean with what happened but can you find any excuse for them to go on holidays?"

"I think Mum and Dad found out they were gonna have Bill around May and that's why they ran away here and got married in secret."

"Great" mumbled Ron "our house got kablooyed on its own anniversary"

"Bill, you think you can manage to convince your parents to go on vacation for their wedding anniversary?" asked Harry, thinking they could get two birds with one stone.

"I'm sure I could get Fleur's parents to invite them somewhere in France."

"Great then, let's tell them tonight at dinner and Bill, use money from my vaults to pay for the expenses, alright? Then when they leave tomorrow, we'll start on the plans."

* * *

After a quick word with his wife Bill sat down next to Harry in the kitchen in Grimmauld Place. There wasn't much talking and the mood was so subdued, you would not have guessed that the younger people had a surprise for their parents.

Harry had summoned Kreacher to deliver a message to Ginny at Hogwarts about his plans and asked him to come back the next day to lend a hand. The old elf was overjoyed with the plans.

While they were all finishing their dinner with a nice apple pie, Bill cleared his throat. " Mum, Dad, I know the time is not of celebration but we all have a surprise for you and we are all hoping you will not refuse." With a pointed look toward Harry, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley guessed that Harry would be the one who would be the most crushed if they dared refuse. ("Nice job of Bill to point out their favorite" mumbled George to the red-faced Harry.)

"I talked to Apolline and her husband and they would like to invite you to their villa in France for your wedding anniversary."

Mrs. Weasley had tears in her eyes as she hugged her daughter-in-law. "Thank you all dears, that was very generous of your parents, Fleur"

"But the house?" asked Mr. Weasley to his older sons.

"After living there most our lives, don't you think we could fix it up ourselves?" asked Ron, hoping he would not betray the surprise.

"It can't be worse after we work on it than it is now, can it?" asked George in an amused voice.

Harry was biting his lips saying that knowing the tw - knowing him, it very well could be, but his brothers would be there to prevent all major catastrophes.

After a lot of arguments, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley accepted and were to go get a Portkey for France the next morning.

* * *

It was an unsaid agreement between the boys that some time in the two weeks while their parents were away, they would talk George into going back to the shop, maybe not open it back to the public, but at least go past the front door.

On their first morning meeting in front of what was left of the Burrow, Bill and Percy adressed two important points.

"We have all been granted a paid month off from our jobs to grieve and help reconstruct our houses but Kingsley might stop by to talk to us. First the goblins aren't happy with you three" Bill pointed to the two boys present out of the legendary trio "But as the Minister gave them back the power to rule their bank without wizards' authority present, they are willing to overlook the fact that you three broke in, as long as you do not mention it to anyone. Second, I know Kingsley want to talk to all three of you about what you'll do. He said he had talked to Hermione and she will go back to Hogwarts next year to finish her education, and while he honors that choice, he is in dear need of Aurors and has a deal for you; start an accelerated program in September and be official Aurors by the next summer. I believe he has many more options for you and a crowd of journalist on his hand but when I told him of your plan Harry for the Burrow, he said he would stop by when he had a minute to lend a hand and talk to you."

"Now that the fun talk is over" said Charlie taking his shirt off, much to the amusement of his brothers, "how about we decide how the new Burrow should look like.

* * *

_AN: I do not have a Beta, maybe some noticed... if someone is interested, please pm me or leave a review. Leave a review anyway, it makes my day :)_


	3. Chocolate Frogs

**Chap 3: Chocolate Frogs**

When Hermione and her parents arrived at the Burrow, they were very surprised. Mr. and Mrs. Granger had never been there and were very curious to finally see the house where their daughter wished to spend all her vacation and probably her future as they had been happy to hear she was FINALLY dating Ron, the younger red-headed boy they had been hearing of since she had started attending Hogwarts. They had seen a couple pictures and been told by their daughter that the house had been destroyed during the war, as well as their old townhouse in London. But Hermione did not know that Harry and the Weasleys had been working on improving the house since they had politely kicked the parents out of the house. What greeted her was a clean stone cottage with a pile of debris on the side and what they could salvage on the other side.

After greeting each other, the Grangers asked if they could lend a hand, wanting to help the family who had been so generous with their run-away daughter. They had accepted her reasons for leaving them in security but were still a bit touchy on the fact their daughter thought all right to erase any memory of their only daughter.

The boys and Fleur were happy to have Hermione with them, she was after all a very gifted witch and were quickly giving her instruction to how she could help, under the impressed watch of her parents who had rarely seen their daughter doing her art.

"This is basically the house we finished" said Ron showing the roughly-handled plans to his girlfriend. "That will be the new kitchen, bigger so that the whole family can sit. That by the main fireplace will be the sitting room and we added a smaller lounge that can serve as library and office. We added smaller fireplaces to heat the place in winter but only the one in the sitting room will be connected to the Floo."

That was followed by an explication to the Granger to what was the Floo, as they were not too sure.

"Now on the first landing you have the master suite for Mum and Dad, a smaller suite for guests and the bathroom. So we have basically everything that the two of them will need when they are alone in the house."

"I sense a but" said Hermione watching the tired but happy faces on her surrogate family.

"Ve vish to make ze house az family-oriented az possible" said Fleur hugging her husband.

"Harry had the brilliant idea that we could all have our own room and so that we could visit Mum and Dad whenever, which will thrill them." said Charlie, sporting a nasty sunburn on his naked shoulders.

Harry felt the need to explain or maybe he did not want the credit but his opinion was not to be heard as Percy shut him up with a look and addressed Hermione, after all, before the war they had gotten along fine. "What do you propose we do? We do not want to give Mother the impression she is living in an empty haunted house but we are planning to use this house as a place where she can receive all her grandchildren, starting with Theodore Lupin. Also, Father really like the way the Burrow like before, I do not think he would enjoy living in something that would remind him of a Manor like the Malfoys."

Always so tactful, Percy had not noticed the flinch from the trio or the sad look Bill and Fleur gave them. After all, it had been decided that as a celebration to the new house, every member would tell the family what had happened on their side.

Hermione stopped rubbing her old scar on her neck and started to work, listening to all the advices her parents, boyfriend, his brothers and her best friend told her.

They finished their evening sharing a meal prepared by Kreacher in Grimmauld Place.

* * *

The following days were spent creating what Hermione had planned, then placing the furniture. They had to buy quite a few new things, as Ron did not want to still be sleeping on a bed he knew Charlie had shagged in and Ginny had asked for something other than a camp bed.

The Grangers decided that as they were to live without their daughter once again, they rather stay in somewhere quieter than the city and Ottery St. Catchpole was a nice countryside village where dentist could still be useful. The fact that they were still quite close to their daughter helped immensely.

As her husband took care of their new place, Mrs. Granger lend a hand to her daughter in decorating the kitchen. Together they had found in Muggle London a set of old wooden chairs and the older lady used her time to repair each and everyone of them; painting them and adding cushions. As she was asked by the boys, there wasn't two identical chairs. you could guess they were the same basic chair but Mrs. Granger had made each as unique as the person who would use it, making Charlie's with Dragon hide handles, Percy's a dark wood that gave it a serious look, Ginny's with brooms painted on the back that Hermione charmed to fly around, Harry had small sniches and George's was painted a multitude of bright colors and had a Muggle joke product installed in the seat so that everytime he sat down, it sounded like he had farted.

That chair brought the first laugh out of George since the Battle, but he still turned to his side waiting for a comment he would never receive. As he left the kitchen, Hermione asked her mother if she could do a replica of that seat and add the initials F and G to their back.

* * *

Harry had been the one to follow George. He found him at the edge of the garden sitting by the gnomes hole. He wasn't tricking them, or throwing them or even teaching them swear words. No, he was just sitting down watching his own two feet in front of him.

"It's weird, I have my two feet, but I never considered them my own, one was Fred's one was mine. As they were identical we joked saying that maybe during birth we switched and no one noticed."

George was not waiting for a reply and Harry knew that. He knew that when you lose someone dear, you do not want other people to tell you what you feel. Because every case is different, losing Sirius had felt different than losing Remus, yet he had both considered them his godfathers. So what did he know about losing a twin, and not any twin, Fred Weasley, the life of a party, half of a renowned duo.

So Harry let him talk, not saying a word. George told him how Fred had asked Angelina out for the Yule Ball because he knew his twin fancied her and it was the only way to show him that she was not unaccessible. How they were picked by Oliver Wood to join the Quidditch team, by using their brooms and bat to send stink bombs all over the main staircase aiming at the ghosts. How Fred had joked about cutting his own ear too so that they could tease their mother again. How when they had nightmares as children they never went to their parents' bed but seeked the other. How they could be differentiated by a freckle on the inside of their wrist. How they got the Marauders Map and learned so much out of it that when they learned Sirius and Remus invented it, they worked twice as hard to get their approval, which they got quickly with a prank involving a bikini clad Snape and a blond Snuffle. How they then made the twins honorary Marauders, him as Mssr. Rapier and me as Mssr. Rodent, names they later used in Potterwatch, though even then they were mistaken us.

When he heard that last tid bit of information, Harry took the Map out of his trousers' pocket. He gave it to George, who ruefully gave the incantation.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

As the ink appeared both boys reveled in the treasures that Map had brought them.

"Did you know which Marauders were Remus and Sirius?" asked Harry, knowing the two late wizard had liked to keep the twins guessing.

"Well Lupin was obviously Mooney. Or maybe Padfoot, if you consider a werewolf sneaky. And Sirius... well Padfoot seems a nickname that would fit a black dog animagus, but as I do not know the other members maybe he was Wormtail; you know he had a tail and could worm his way out of tricky situation." The prankster sighed. He hated not knowing that tidbit of information. Harry traced the names with his finger as he explained to the older man.

"Remus Lupin was indeed Mooney, due to his little furry problem. His three best friend, aside from pranking the school at every possible occasions, did something to appease their friend during the full moon, they ALL became Animagi. Padfoot was Sirius Black, as he transformed in the form of a shaggy black dog. I always thought he looked a bit like a grim." Harry added with a chuckle.

"Wormtail was Peter Pettigrew." At George's look, Harry told him the full story, to be sure he knew everything. "He was their friend and Sirius got thrown in Azkaban for his murder as well as the murder of 13 bystander. However that had been a setup by the rat. Yes, Pettigrew's Animagus form was the one of a big fat rat. He cut his toe to fake his death and escape as a rat to a Wizard family."

George's eyes could have fallen out of its sockets.

"You do not know how shocked Ron was when he realized that Scabbers, who slept in his bed and chew on his sheets was actually a human hiding from Azkaban. He was the one that brought Voldemort back at the end of the Triwizard Tournament, coming back in the good books of his lord after failing 14 years before. He died this spring in Malfoy Manor when we were captured. Ron and I were wrestling with him and he was about to strangle me with the hand Voldemort had created for him after he had to cut his own during the ceremony. But I had saved him when Remus and Sirius told us the truth. I had stopped them from murder, saying that we should bring him to the Dementors in the castle. We never did but the fact that I had first spared his life made him hesitate in killing me when he could have. I guess Voldemort had charmed his new hand not to show pity and Ron and I could not stop it from killing its owner."

George was awestruck, learning how much one of his idol had been turned to the dark side and done so much harm to Harry. But there were still holes in the story.

"Why would you spare him, when you know he is the reason your godfather was in prison? Why would he hesitate to kill you if he was working for Voldemort? How come he turned bad? Why did Sirius want to kill him the first time?"

Harry found those questions easier to answer than he thought they would be. It was very personal and started with one name.

"You did not ask who was the last Marauder."

"I figured if you knew, you would have told me."

With a small smile, Harry conjured his patronus. "Prongs"

George had a hard time wrapping his head around the name, the stag and the relation to Harry.

"Did I never tell you the significance of my Patronus in the DA." At the negative answer, Harry elaborated. "When I saved Sirius from all those Dementors third year, I had first thought I had seen my own father conjure a unicorn. Quite silly thinking back about it, though the image does not stop making me laugh. Long story short I had seen myself because we had a bit of an adventure with a time-turner. When we discussed it with Dumbledore later he told me all the Marauders had ran over the grounds that night; Mooney the werewolf, Padfoot the dog, Wormtail the rat and Prongs the stag. He had meant my patronus."

"So Prongs was a stag Animagus, I still do not see the relation to you."

"How could I know, even unconsciously, what Prongs looked like if I had never met him?"

"So you met him, who was he?"

"My dad."

George almost choked on his own saliva. Harry laughed at him continuing his tale.

"James Potter met Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew on their first ride aboard the Hogwarts Express. My dad and Sirius were much like you and Fred were." George grimaced at the past tense, but tried not to let get to him as he was compared to his idol, his friend's father it appeared.

"I could tell you stories about them, but since I did not grew up with my own father I do not know everything about him, just stories someone else told me. Basically, he was in love with my mother instantly though she could hardly stand him and they only dated when they were in their final year at Hogwarts while being Head Boy and Girl."

"P-pp-p-prongs was Head Boy." Harry laughed, knowing how much he had teased his brothers about that title.

"Yes. They got married and had me and left to go into hiding." Harry did not want to elaborate on that sadder part on his parents' life. He was the reason they were hiding though he understood it was their choice and Voldemort had killed them, not Harry. "But trying to be cunning they had not made Sirius Black their Secret-Keeper as he was sure to be targeted but Peter Pettigrew, not knowing he was already a spy. When Sirius learned Pettigrew was the reason my parents were gone he tried hunting him down, and that's how he got tricked and sent to Azkaban. Trust me, if there was one man I hate almost as much as Voldemort, if not more it would be Pettigrew. You saw me after your accident with your ear, I refuse to believe a friend could betray me, I inherited that from my father apparently. But when Sirius and Lupin had their wand raised at him, I simply could not watch them kill their own old friend. Even if the feelings were not there anymore, they were before" Harry pointed at the map, proof that the four boys had been friends. " and I refuse to stand by and watch all I had left of my father become murderers. In the end that act saved me."

The two sat in silence, watching the stars, wondering if the four- three friends were together now, happy at last.

"Have you tried talking to them?" asked George out of the blue.

"Snape did, when he caught me once. It was hilarious how he got insulted."

"Well when we talked to them with Fred, they gave us a lot of tip. Look."

George cleaned the Map and tapped it saying; "Mssr. Rodent and Mssr. Prongs Jr. wishes to salute our dear idols."

"They usually like it when we are overly-polite"

_Mssr. Mooney expresses his thanks to Mssr. Rodent and applauds whoever came up with Prongs Jr._

_Mssr. Padfoot would like to add that he is proud of them both, though Mssr. Prongs Jr. could do a bit more pranking according to his favorite godfather._

_Mssr. Prongs is forced by his lady to say that his son will not act as childishly as Mrrs. Padfoot, we will love him no matter what._

_Mssr. Wormtail is pointing out it is soon time for dinner._

_Mssr. Rapier will finish by pointing out to Mssr. Rodent that someone who does not laugh once a day is someone that should to listen to his brother sing under the shower._


	4. Pumpkin Pasties

**Chap 4: Pumpkin Pasties**

The highlights of his days were the small notes Pig brought him all throughout the day. Hermione had chastised Harry many times that such a small fragile owl should not have to go back and forth between the Burrow and Hogwarts just so that he could share part of his day with Ginny. Once again, the topic of owls came up at dinner.

"Why don't you go to Diagon Alley and get a new owl?" asked Ron, a bit peeved that his pet was constantly on the move.

"I can't get myself to replace Hedwig." And once again Hermione reminded him of his old broom. "You couldn't replace your Nimbus, yet you were more than glad to receive the Firebolt from Sirius, which you also need to replace." But a broom was not a pet.

His surprise came one late night.

He had been unable to go to sleep and met with George in the now pristine kitchen. George was playing with the Marauders' Map, as he had been found doing a lot recently, either showing Harry a weird note from his godfather or a student that was out of bed. This night, George was reading the Marauders Code.

"Article 28: Never look under Padfoot's bed" Harry chuckled imagining what bizarre things could have hidden there after seven straight years of neglect from his godfather.

As he was about to read another one, he noticed a bright light outside. Drawing his wand, he motioned to George to follow him outside on the street. Both wizards ready for an attack, they made their way to the park where a small flame was dying out.

"Fawkes?" Harry was more than surprised to see his old Headmaster's phoenix in a London park during his Burning Day. Scooping the featherless chick up, Harry went back inside 12 Grimmauld Place.

Quickly telling George that it was Dumbledore's phoenix, the latter asked him why it was hanging out there.

"I do not know. Last we saw of him was at his master's funeral. Remember the song." The older man did remember the event and together they found a perch and cushion to put the small bird to rest.

"Quite ugly, if you ask me" said George, going back to the Map he had left in their hurry to save the phoenix. "Look at this: 'Article 5: Do not EVER say that Lily Evans is a know-it-all. The consequences are quite painful, ask Padfoot."

Harry smiled, imagining his father defending his mother from his best mates. Thinking it was a good time to retire to bed, Harry left George, barely overhearing the older wizard's whisper "'Article 13: A Marauder will never be left behind.' so why am I here?"

* * *

They were all waiting impatiently at the station. Ron and Harry having a pang of nostalgia, both thinking of how they could have been on that train and how they never will again. Kingsley had seen them days prior and after deliberation, the trio had made their choice for their future.

Hermione could not be swayed out of going back to Hogwarts and would be attending starting on September 1, along with Ginny, for their seventh year.

Many students had picked this choice, from Muggle-borns who had been in hiding, or older who needed strong OWLs or NEWTs results for their career, or simply people who had been expelled by the Carrows. Headmistress was encouraging every youth to comeback, saying that they would use this year, and this year only, to bring everyone up to speed and rise the school's reputation to its former glory.

Ron had an excellent point made, much to his brothers' amusement (though not his mother), asking what was the point in defeating Voldemort if he had to go back to homework anyway. According to him, he proved himself to everybody else. This new-found confidence elated his girlfriend who had simply jumped in his arms and snogged him in front of his and her family and the Minister. When Harry cleared his throat, Ron shot him an amused look. "You can't say anything, mate. There isn't a battle happening now." Hermione said she would miss him, but after many promises that he would find time to go to the Hogsmead weekends, she let him go. Ron was therefore starting Auror training in September.

Harry's decision was harder than his friends'. Hogwarts had been his first home. Years ago, he would beg to live there, even during the summer. But he had a new home now; the Burrow. And not even the prospect of being Quidditch Captain, being with all his friends (especially Ginny) and have other people make decisions for him could erase his unease.

Ron was right, after all they had been through, could he really just go back to being an ignorant student whose life was around homework and exams? Charlie then said that he should "screw school, you can play for England". Harry had received proposals by Quidditch teams who had seen his talent at Hogwarts and who wanted also to have the famous Harry Potter play for them. It was a dream come true. Yet, it was not HIS dream. He loved Quidditch, but how could he focus on the Snitch when he knew in the back of his head that some ex Death Eater was still wondering around.

Really, there wasn't really a choice. He had told McGonagall years ago he wished to be an Auror. Her defense for his dream against the old toad was still one of his fondest memory. He did not want it to make his parents proud of because he wanted to follow his grandfather's footsteps as Sirius had told him when 15-years-old Harry went to him with his dream. He did not want it because it was expected of him ("After You-Konw-Who, Harry Potter could vanquish any Dark Lord" said Rita Skeeter). No, Harry was good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, and he knew he could help people this way. As his Ginny said, he was nothing more than a "Noble Prat". So Harry Potter would join his best friend in Auror training in the Fall.

And now here they were, the Golden Trio. They had just met up Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who were arriving back from France, and were now waiting for the Hogwarts Express to bring Ginny back so they could all see the Burrow as a family.

When the train arrived, the students ran to their family. The euphoria of the end of the war was still present, as people found members of their family who had been in hiding, maybe supposedly dead. Many people had approached the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione to thank them, or congratulate them.

Ron was surprised to see Mrs. Cattermole. She came to thank him for helping her family escape.

All those people had scared the baby in Mrs. Weasley's arms. Harry had been taking care of Teddy often and the baby was to have his first sleep-over with his godfather tonight at the Burrow. But with the crowd of people swarming around the young man, Mrs. Weasley had taken the baby from Harry. Teddy, who was very fond of his godfather, made a fuss until his hair face and eyes turned a bright crimson, and Mrs. Weasley gave the baby back to Harry. Teddy calmed right away, his features changing slowly to match his godfather's.

"What a lovely family picture" said Ginny miming taking a photograph as she approached her family. Still smirking at Harry, Ginny hugged every member of her family, stopping at him last. Expecting a hug like everyone else, he put Teddy in one arm and extended the other. What he wasn't prepared for was the force with which Ginny threw herself in his arms before snogging the daylight out of him.

Between catcalls and wolf-whistles from Hogwarts students who knew about their previous relationship, her brothers' groans and her mother's surprised squeak, Harry had the decency to hand the laughing Teddy to Hermione so that he could greet his maybe-not-an-ex-anymore-girlfriend like she deserved. As he pull back to catch his breath, Ginny gave him her most radiant smile before hitting him repeatedly on his head.

"That should have happened the minute you arrived back in May. I should not have had to wait weeks for my boyfriend to kiss me more than was absolutely necessary and even then, you could have at least owled me when you three were gone. I was really scared for you. How would you feel if I dissapeared like that and never gave you ANY information about my whereabouts. I'm really mad at you Harry James Potter." The redhead had finished her rant by embracing Harry once again, hiding her face in his shoulder. It told him a lot about how hurt she really was, when he started feeling tears seeping through his shirt. Knowing how she hated showing weakness though, he acted as if it hadn't happened and held her until he was sure she was done crying. Discreetly drying her tears, Harry took her face in his hands and kissed her once again before they faced her family together.

"Guess Lil' Ginnikins isn't our baby anymore, boys." Said George patting Percy and Bill's shoulder before turning around. The Talk would wait until they were safely back at home.

* * *

**small chapter, I know I am sorry. I am moving and do not have internet. Rest assured, I'll keep on writing, you'll just have to wait until I visit someone like today so that i can post anything.**

**Til then, I have a question for you.  
**

**Audrey Weasley, Percy's future wife has basically no past. I'm letting you choose whether she is a Muggle or a Witch. If any of you has a burst of inspiration, you can even do a character profile (name, age, appearance, bio...)  
**

**bye  
**


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